Mitchell Site

Admission Requirements/Process
Prospective nursing/pre-nursing students must meet certain standards to be considered for admission into the nursing/pre-nursing program. These standards are not the same standards used for admission to Dakota Wesleyan University. Students can be denied admission into nursing, but may be eligible for admission into other majors at Dakota Wesleyan University.

Admission Requirements for Nursing/Pre-Nursing Program
Students who wish to be considered for the nursing or pre-nursing program must provide documentation of the following requirements:

No support course can be repeated more than once for consideration as a nursing or pre-nursing student.

Rationale for nursing/pre-nursing requirements: identified admission requirements are based on the emphasis of standardized exam skills used in the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

Note: An admission appeal process exists for students who do not meet the above requirements but have extenuating circumstances. Address written requests for exceptions to the admission requirements policy to the Nursing Admission Committee and mail to Missy Herr-Valburg, DWU Director of Recruitment, 1200 W. University Ave., Mitchell, SD 57301; or e-mail to meherr@dwu.edu.

Application to Nursing Program
Early application is encouraged since class size is limited. The Nursing Admissions Committee begins consideration of completed applications, received by the application deadline, after a prospective student has provided written documentation of meeting admission requirements (ACT scores, high school/college transcripts and placement scores). Committee members review the following data carefully when considering applications for the nursing program: overall GPA (high school and college), high school rank, college course grades in anatomy, physiology, microbiology and general psychology.

Prerequisites
Students must successfully complete a nurse assistant course that is offered on the Mitchell campus before the fall semester begins. Students who have earned certification as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) may test out of the course on the first day of the nurse assistant class.

Clinical Requirements
The following requirements must be met before students can participate in clinical experiences:

Academic Progression Standards
Students must successfully complete all nursing courses with an 82 percent (C) to progress to the next nursing course. They must also successfully complete support courses outlined in the curriculum plan to enroll in the following semester. Graduation policies are outlined in the DWU AA Nursing Student Handbook.

Nursing Course Fees
Additional course fees are assessed per credit hour to help defray cost of the nursing program’s low faculty/student ratio in the clinical area, professional liability insurance and comprehensive standardized nursing student assessment throughout the nursing program.

AA Pre-nursing Program
Pre-nursing students typically register for any non-nursing support course that is required by the nursing program. An individualized pre-nursing plan is developed for students wishing to complete the required associate of arts degree curriculum over a period of three years because of work or family obligations.